Nick "Lesona" Johnson is an esports journalist with a focus on CS:GO and the OWL. His interest for esports started with CS:S and grew into a career as both an esports writer and an avid fan, giving him a unique perspective on both the casual and professional scenes. Twitter: @Lesona_

BLAST Pro Series has decided to replace Vitality with the recent StarLadder Major Grand Finalists, AVANGAR. ForZe will take the place of the qualified team after winning the Closed Qualifier for the tournament.

Vitality is Flatlining

Schmitt’s seeming unwillingness to play out BLAST with his team is a testament to the issues that must be going on inside it. It is normal to see benched players play in previously scheduled tournaments while the team seeks their replacement, but that is obviously not happening in this case. Either Schmitt is unwilling to stand in for Vitality’s new fifth, or the team is unwilling to play with him. Either scenario doesn’t bode well for a team that entered StarLadder Berlin with high hopes and left after crashing out 1-2 against eventual Grand Finalists, AVANGAR.

Runors have swirled around Vitality adding either current G2 IGL Richard “shox” Papillon or free agent Fabien “kioShiMa” Fiey, but neither move has come to pass as of yet.

BLAST Pro Series kicks off the Friday the 13th, and continues into Saturday the 14th.